Case for motion-picture films.



w. P. McNEEl-l CASE FOR MOTION PICTURE FILMS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 16. 1914.

1,155,940, Patented Oct. 5, 1915.

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A FTOR/VEYS W. P. MCNEEL.

CASE FOR MOTION PICTURE FILMS.

APPLICATION .FILED NOV. 16. 1914.

Patented Oct. 5, 1915.

2 SHEETS SHEET 2.

, gnu N n A TTOR/VEYS WILLIAM PINKNEY MQNEEL, OF SAN ANTON IO, TEXAS.

CASE FOR MOTION-PICTURE FILMS.

Application filed November 16, 1914.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM PINKNEY MONEEL, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of San Antonio, in the county of BeXar and State of Texas, have invented a new and ImprovedGase for Motion-Picture Films, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to motion picture apparatus, and has particular reference to means for manipulating motion picture Pursuant to the usual practice ofrewinding a film from the reel which receives it from the machine to another reel so that the picture may be operated in the right, direction subsequently, various devices have been proposed for making such rewinding or transfer from one reel to another. Among the dis advantages, however, of the usual practice, may be found that when films are rewound in the open air or outside of an inclosure, they are subjected to dust, grit or other impurities which, settling on the delicate face of the film, tend to scratch or mar the same due to the abrasive action of one coil of film upon another, such action being augmented by the slipping of the layers upon one another due to the application of tension or force to the winding means.

Among the objects of my invention, therefore, is to provide an inclosed casing wherein the operation of transfer or rewinding of a film from one reel to another is performed, protecting the film from danger incident to dust, grit or the like, as Well as from danger of fire.

Another object of the invention is to provide devices cooperating with the film on each of the reels, the same insuring that the film will be wound upon the receiving reel uniformly as to position and tension; hence obviating the objection of the grinding or slipping action between the layers after the same have been received upon the reel, such mechanism serving furthermoreto hold the film firmly upon both of the reels in the event of breakage during the transfer from one reel to theother.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an automatically operated signal device for the purpose of indicating immediately the fact of the breakage or severance of the film between the reels.

The foregoing and many other objects of Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 5, 1915.

Serial No. 872.377.

the invention will hereinafter be more fully described and claimed and illustrated in the drawings forming a part of this specification in which like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views, and in which Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section on the line l1 of Fig. 5; F ig, 2 is a similar view substantially on the line 22 of Fig. 3; Fig. 3 is an elevation of the left hand end of the apparatus with the casing closed; Fig. i is a similar view with the casing doors partly open; Fig. 5is a similar view with the casing fully open and the reels elevated in position for application to or removal from the machine; Figs. 6 and 7 are vertical transverse sections on the corresponding lines of Fig. 2; and-Fig. 8 is a diagram of the automatic signal mechanism.

The several parts of this device may be made of any suitable materials, and the relative sizes and proportions, as well as the general design of the mechanism, may be varied to a considerable extent without departing from the spirit of the invention hereinafter more fully described and specifically claimed.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, I show my invention as including a casing, made of sheet metal or other fireproof material, of generally rectangular shape and including a bottom 11, right and left ends 12 and 13, a rear wall 14 of the full height of the casing, and a front wall 15 of substantially half the height of the casing. The parts of the casing thus far enumerated are all rigid, and in addition thereto I provide two doors, namely, a front door 16 connected by a horizontal hinge 17 adjacent the upper edge of the front wall 15, and a top door 18 hinged on a horizontal axis 19'adjacent the upper edge of the back wall 14. These two doors are so constructed, therefore, that their free edges are adapted to close substantially together along the horizontal line of the upper front portion of the casing. These doors, furthermore, are preferably provided with flanges which overlap the edges of the openings adjacent thereto to make the closliire more secure as against fire, dust or the li e.

The casing 10 is adapted to be supported upon any suitable standard or support, the same being illustrated herein as metal legs 20 secured at the ends of the casing.

At 21 and 22 I show a pair of guides secured in vertical position in spaced relation to each other upon the inner surface of the back wall 14 of the casing. These guides accommodate a pair of vertical movable slides 23 and 24 respectively operating upwardly through holes or slits in the bottom 11 of the casing just in front of the rear wall. Stop lugs 25 and 26 connected to these slides are adapted to engage the bottom wall 11 and limit the downward movement of the slides. These slides are movable up and down in the guides 21 and 22 by any suitable means, the means shown herein being a horizontal bar 27 secured to the lower ends of the slides at 28, an actuating lever 29 being pivoted at 30 to the middle portion of the bar. The lever is shown as that of the first class and fulcrumed at 31 upon a hanger 32 connected loosely to the bottom of the casing at 33. Since the slides 23 and 24 are guided for movement in right lines in the guides, the application of force downwardly upon the handleend of the lever will cause the lever to swing around the pivot 31 elevating the bar 27 and slides.

A spindle 34 is secured to the upper end of the slide 23 and -extends thence horizontally forwardly substantially to the upper edge of the fixed front wall 15. This spindle is smooth and is adapted to receive a filled reel 35 which it supports idly for the purpose of transferring the film 36 to a reel 37 slipped upon a quill or hollow shaft 38 j ournaled upon a smooth spindle 39 secured to the upper end of the slide 24 and of a length substantially equal to that of the spindle 34. A key or feather 40 prevents the rotation of the quill 38 in the reel 37. It will thus be seen that when the slides 23 and 24 are elevated, the reels 35 and 37 will likewise be elevated to the position shown in Figs. 1 and 5, and in such position the reels may be easily slipped on or oil of their respective spindles. When the mechanism is lowered within the casing for operation of the transfer of the film from one reel to another, the front or free ends of the spindles are received in forked bearings 41 fixed to the inner surface of the front wall 15, and a pair of keepers 42 connected to the front door 16 swing into embracmg engagement.

with the upper portions of the front ends of the spindles cotiperating with the bearings 41 to hold the spindles steady during the operation of the device when the casing is closed.

The quill '38 has connected to it at its rear end a pinion 43 which, when the reels are down within the casing, meshes with a gear 44 journaled on a shaft 45 to which an operating crank 46 may be detachably connected in any suitable manner. The shaft 45 extends through the front and rear walls of the casing and is supported in bearings 45. Rotation of the gear 44, therefore, will cause a comparatively rapid rotation of the reel 37 to cause the film 36 to unwind from the reel 35.

At 47 I show a roller carried by an arm 48 pivoted at 49 to the front wall 12 of the easing and acted upon by a spring 50 to cause the roller 47 to bear upon the film as it is being wound upon the hub of the reel 37, as shown in Fig. 2. A similar roller 51 carried by an arm 52 is likewise upwardly spring pressed by a spring 53 which bears upon the portion of the film being unwound. This roller 51 serves several purposes, among which is that of a brake or tension device preventing the overrunning of the reel due to the high rate of speed which is likely to be set up therein toward the end of the unwinding operation, and another purpose of the roller 51, as is true also with the roller 47, is that in the event of breakage or parting of the film 36 between the reels at any time, the springs 50 and will serve to hold the rollers against the two parts of the film with sufficient firmness to prevent loosening, unwinding or snarling of the film.

At 54 I provide a fixed contact of an alarm circuit and at is an arm pivoted at 56, said arm constituting in effect a switch to complete the circuit through the contact 54 under certain conditions. Said circuit includes any suitable type of signal, either visible or audible, and indicated as a bell at 57. The free end of the switch arm carries a roller 58 against which the upper surface of the film 36 bears as it moves from one reel to the other. The tension maintained upon the film due to the action of the roller 51 is always suificient to keep the switch arm 55 out of contact with the switch contact 54, breaking the circuit through the alarm. The arm 55, however, being freely pivoted on the pivot 56, drops promptly upon the contact 54 when the film breaks or parts, and thereby the circuit is closed, sounding or indicating the alarm to the operator and apprising him of the fact of the film being parted. At 59 I show a finger secured to the bar 27 and extending upwardly therefrom, said finger coiiperating with the switch arm 55 lifting it from the fixed contact 54 when the casing is thrown opein by the lever 29, thereby stopping the bel The means for swinging the doors 16 and 18 open or shut automatically is of a peculiar nature and of particular advantage to the means for shifting the reel mechanism. The door controlling devices are shown best in Figs. 3, 4 and 5. and comprise a link 60 connected at the end of the bar 27 and at its upper end is pivoted at 61 to a pair of arms 62 connected at separated points 3 to the front door 16. lVhen the bar 27 is moved upwardly, such movement causes the link 60 to be forced upwardly, causing the arms 62 to SWlIl the door 16 around its horizontal pivot f7 and to its open position. The other door 18 has a rearwardly and downwardly projecting lever 64 to the free end of which is pivoted at 65 a link 66 whose other end is pivoted at 67 to the front door.

It follows, therefore, that as the front door swings forwardly and downwardly toward its open position, the draft of the link 66 upon the upper door causes said upper door to swing open as will be evident upon comparing Figs. 3, a and 5. The door operating links and levers will be understood to be duplicated preferably at both ends of the casing.

From Fig.5 it may be observed that the upper .door when open is substantially vertically above its pivot 19, and hence it has little tendency to swing shut because of its own weight. The door 16, however, when open, has a tendency by reason of its weight to remain open, and the links 66 connected thereto and leading to the upper door serve to hold the upper door steady. The weight of the door 16, actingas just stated, may

' serve to prevent the drop of the reel mechanism until it is desired to lower the reels and close the doors, when an upwardly draft upon the free end of the lever 29 and the lifting of the front door 16 will lower the reels into the casing simultaneously with the closing of the doors, but preferably l so design the parts that the mechanism is kept elevated by the pressure of the operators foot on the end of the lever 29, whereby, when the operators foot is removed from the lever, the mechanism will drop by its own weight and close the casing. By this arrangement the operator cannot, by'carelessness or incapacity, fail to cause the easing to close and protectthe film from exposure.

I claim:

1. In a device of the character set forth, the combination of a fireproof casing having closure means at its top, a pair of reel supports movable within the casing, and means serving to project thereelgsupports upwardly from the casing and simultaneously open the closure means. i

2. In a device of the character set forth, the combination of a casing, guides secured to the inner surface of the rear wall of the casing, slides movable up and down in said guides, reel supporting spindles carried by said slides, means to elevate or lower both of said slides simultaneously, said casing including closure means, and connections between the slide operating means and the closure means to cause the closure means to open simultaneously with the lifting of the slides and spindles. 3. The combination of a casing including front and top doors, vertical guides secured to the inner surface of the rear wall of the casing, a pair of slides movable up and down in said guides, each of said slides car rying a reel supporting spindle, means connected to said slides to raise and lower them simultaneously, and connections between the casing doors and the slide operating means to cause the doors to open simultaneously with the lifting of the slides and the doors to close while the slides are lowered.

4. The combination of a casing including front and top swinging doors, a pair of reel supporting spindles movably mounted within the casing, means connecting said spindles for simultaneous movement into. or out of the casing and including a horizontal bar, connections between said bar and one of the doors to cause said door to be moved directly from the bar, and connections be tween the two doors whereby the other door is moved from the one connected to the bar and whereby both doors swing open simultaneously with the lifting of the reel supports and swing closed when the reel supports are moved downwardly into the casmg.

' In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

l/VILLIAM PTNKNEY MCNEEL. Witnesses:

N. O. GREEN,

J. H. PATTERSON. 

